News in the Humanosphere: Egypt declares state of emergency following deadly Palm Sunday bombings

Egyptian Coptic Christians attend Orthodox Good Friday mass at the Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo, Egypt, on April 10, 2015. (Xinhua/Pan Chaoyue/flickr)

Egypt’s president has announced a three-month state of emergency after attacks on two Coptic churches that killed at least 45 people. Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s measure will have to be approved by the parliament. He had earlier ordered the deployment of the military across the country. So-called Islamic State said it was behind the blasts in Tanta and Alexandria on Palm Sunday. The group has targeted Copts in Egypt recently and warned of more attacks. President Sisi made a defiant speech at the presidential palace after a meeting of the national defence council to discuss the attacks. (BBC http://bbc.in/2onhqL1)

Violence in Kashmir…At least eight civilians were killed on Sunday when security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir opened fire on protesters during a by-election, according to officials. Local rebel leaders had called for a boycott of the vote, which was held to fill a vacant seat after a member of parliament resigned to protest the killing of civilians during a sweeping security crackdown last year. State and paramilitary police fired bullets and shotgun pellets as thousands of protesters shouting slogans against Indian rule charged into voting booths in Budgam district near the main city of Srinagar. Protests spread to Srinagar when reports of the first killings came from the Charare-e-Sharif area of Budgam. (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/2on429C)

Top Stories

A car bomb that exploded outside a military base in the Somali capital on Sunday has killed at least 15 people, a military official said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2of4OVM)

Violent clashes between demonstrators and police forces broke out in Caracas the day after President Nicolas Maduro’s government banned opposition leader Enrique Capriles from office for 15 years. (BBC http://bbc.in/2ofA7j9)

Suspected Muslim insurgents set off dozens of bombs in southern Thailand, bringing down power lines and setting tires on fire to block roads. Security officials said there were no reports of deaths or injuries. (AP https://yhoo.it/2nuJlJE)

The situation in Syria now “amounts to an international armed conflict” after U.S. missile strikes on a Syrian air base, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, expanding both sides’ humanitarian obligations to cover any prisoners of war. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2phwKWr)

Somalia’s U.S. ambassador says his embassy has learned that U.S. immigration agents are planning to deport about 4,000 Somali nationals now living in the United States. (VOA http://bit.ly/2nuzlQm)

In an effort to keep Yemen polio-free, nearly 5 million children under the age of five have been vaccinated in a nationwide campaign covering all governorates in the country. (WHO http://bit.ly/2of4Kp)

Benin President Patrice Talon said he has abandoned plans to reduce the presidential mandate from two terms to one, after parliament rejected a draft bill to change the constitution. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2phtUAP)

Ugandan police said a minister had been arrested for taking a bribe from a hotel owner after promising he would in return help him deal with sexual harassment accusations from one of his workers. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2ofopVE)

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said the Tibetan people should decide if they wanted to continue with his institution, adding that he wanted to convene a meeting of senior monks this year to start discussing his succession. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2nuyIXh)

Friends of Humanosphere

About

Humanosphere

Seattle is the epicenter of a global effort to beat back poverty and illness in the poorest corners of the world. We'd like Humanosphere to be your go-to source for news, conversation and analysis about this effort as it unfolds. Your host is Tom Paulson, a reporter with decades of experience covering science, medicine and global health in the US and beyond.

Support Humanosphere

Do you want to make the world a better place? Of course you do!
One way you can help do that is by helping us here at Humanosphere make the worldwide fight against poverty and inequity as newsworthy as a cat video, a car crash or a celebrity in rehab. We are an independent, non-profit news site that gives a damn. We need you to give as well, and here’s how you can!